Artwork Information

The Diwan-i-Am or 'The Hall of Public Audiences' in the Red Fort, Dehli, was where the Emperor would sit and hear the complaints of the common people. His alcove in the wall was marble-panelled, and set with precious stones, but many of these were looted after the Mutiny of 1857. The Red Fort also houses the Diwan-i-Khas, (Hall of Private Audiences, where the Emperor held private meetings. Also made of marble, the famous Peacock Throne, now in Iran, was its magnificent centrepiece. Although a mere remnant of its former glory, the hall has retained a famous Persian couplet on the wall which reads 'If on earth be an eden on bliss, it is this, it is this, none but this' which gives an intimation of its original splendour.